Mopping...

[ticklemegreen]

Hello! This may sound really ridiculous but, I swear I do not know how to mop! I am for the first time in my life a stay-at-home-mom/homemaker. When both my dh and I worked we split the chores and he always mopped. Now that I'm the one home, I do most of the domestics. When I mop though, I don't feel like I make a difference though. Is there a specific technique to use while mopping? Do some mops just not work well? What kind of mop would YOU recommend from personal experience? TIA!

[EricaDoula]

I love the swiffer sweeper with the wet pads. To me, they work better than a mop. I feel like a mop just drags around the germs and dirt and yuck. But, the swiffer you can change the pad. I know it's not very eco-friendly, but you can use old towels on the thing instead of the swiffer brand pads!

[ticklemegreen]

I broke my swiffer from scrubbing so hard...
I have VERY white tile, I have to sweep daily or it looks filthy, it doesn't help that I have two dogs lol :-) Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Jackies Ladybug]

steam mops work well, but nothing beats a contoured sponge mop and a good grout brush on an extension handle.
mopping sucks, and it really does take a while to figure out how to get your floor the cleanest it can be with least effort.
when i had tile i would spray down the sticky spots with some water and let them sit for about 15 minutes then run over the whole thing with my sponge mop and hot water with a touch of dish soap.

[CariOfOz]

I have a dry swiffer that I use to sweep every day, and then I use a damp one to spot clean. But I'm all about my steam mop It gets used about 1-2 times a week, depending on things like if it's rainy and crud gets tracked in.

[sunshineafterrain]

I have a bunch of mops actually lol There are things that I like, and don't like, about all of them, so I go in spurts with which one I use.
I have a steam cleaner
It's an Enviro-cleaner. I am not sure if they still make them

I have a micro-fiber string type (strips of cloth)
I did have a star fiber microfiber mop same as above~ think re-usable swiffer
type, the cloths are washable
And another mop which is a large version of the star fiber, think notebook size mop head

I like that all of them have washable cloths, so if you have a bunch of refills you just keep switching them and always are using a clean cloth.

The string mop (which is strips of cloth) is great because it can mop up spills, wipe baseboards and get in corners better, so if I had to choose one it would be that one. You wring it by sliding down this plastic piece and twisting.
The top can come off and go through the washing machine too.

I think changing the water is important if you are using a bucket to clean.
I have all hard floors, so if I am using a bucket the water can get pretty nasty

Another method is to use 2 buckets, one for soapy water and one for rinse water. The rinse water gets way dirtier and can be dumped and the soapy water stays cleaner as you go along.

Hope this helps somewhat!

[BaBaBa]

Another steam mopper here

Another tip is to mop from the cleanest area to the dirtiest last.

[staceychev]

[QUOTE=sunshineafterrain;14928350

Another method is to use 2 buckets, one for soapy water and one for rinse water. The rinse water gets way dirtier and can be dumped and the soapy water stays cleaner as you go along.
[/QUOTE]

I do this--actually started after DD had lead poisoning (long saga)-- and it's a good way to clean. Not the fastest in the world, but...

I tend to do the 2-bucket method with water and a little dish soap or Murphy's oil every 2-3 weeks, and then use Bona and a microfiber mop on the other weeks.

[marrymeflyfree]

I feel you...mopping is one of my least favorite chores, and it seems like there are always little bits left no matter how well you do it! For years I would just squirt liquid dish soap on the floor, splash some water around on it, and stand and scootch around on a towel until it was all clean. That actually worked pretty well and gave my thighs a workout! But then we moved, and there is just too much tile in this place to do that. Now, we have a floor mate - works really well, but is a bit time intensive. That basically only gets pulled out before parties or guests. For frequent in-between cleanings, I use a swiffer wet jet - I bought some washable microfiber pads off etsy, and thanks to a post here have learned how to refill the bottle with vinegar and water. The microfiber/vinegar combo cleans MUCH better than Swiffer's solution and disposable pads ever did! And I always vacuum before any kind of mopping...that makes it tons easier.

[ticklemegreen]

Thanks for all of the advice! I'll be implementing some of the tips when I mop today. I'm definitely going to look into the steam mop aswell. Thanks again.